


brain wars

by jjokkiri



Series: monsta x bingo (winter 2018) [3]
Category: Monsta X (Band)
Genre: (hardly) enemies to lovers, Academic rivals, Alternate Universe - College/University, Blow Jobs, M/M, Monsta X Bingo, Smut, bffs!kihyuk, implied pining, roommates!wonhyuk
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-03-21
Packaged: 2019-04-05 10:18:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,816
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14042091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jjokkiri/pseuds/jjokkiri
Summary: Hoseok pisses Kihyun off, because he’s arguably smarter than him. But, if given the chance, he would definitely fuck him, because his intelligence turns him on.





	brain wars

**Author's Note:**

> for the _enemies/rivals_ space of [monsta x bingo (winter 2018) - level one (hot)](https://archiveofourown.org/collections/MXbingo).

“It’s so goddamn annoying when he breathes,” Kihyun remarked, jamming his pencil into his handheld sharpener. Minhyuk, his best friend, who was sitting across from him flinched at the sudden sound of a blade scraping against wood. The library was quiet, until Kihyun decided to voice his annoyance. The sound of the dark-haired man’s voice was hushed, ensuring that he wasn’t heard over the silence in the library, despite his obvious annoyance.

“Are you talking about Hoseok, again?” Minhyuk asked, scribbling a couple numbers onto his paper and then flipping the lined sheet over to continue working. Anyone looking in on them might have believed that Minhyuk was ignoring Kihyun entirely, but Kihyun knew that Minhyuk was listening to him, even while he was busying himself with complicated math problems. _Minhyuk was always listening to him._

“Of course.” Kihyun answered, as if it were obvious. “I can’t stand him.”

“You always tell me why you can’t stand him,” Minhyuk replied, chewing on his lower lip as he punched a couple numbers into his calculator. “But, I never actually remember. Hoseok’s actually a pretty cool guy, you know?”

The red-haired man had heard this same rant a million times over, but it seemed that Kihyun never minded to repeat himself, when it came to expressing why he hated Shin Hoseok with a burning passion. And, as the greatest best friend in the entirety of the world, Minhyuk never really grew sick of humouring Kihyun and listening to his annoyed rant.

“Are you betraying me, Hyuk?” Kihyun demanded, letting the pencil and sharpener fall onto his open notebook with a soft sound. “You’re supposed to agree with me! That’s what best friends are for!”

Minhyuk made a noncommittal noise, “I’m not betraying you, don’t be dramatic. You’ve got to be realistic. Do I pick my best friend, or do I pick the guy I live with? I see him every single day of my life, you know.”

“So unlucky,” Kihyun responded, sighing as though he pitied his best friend greatly. Minhyuk rolled his eyes.

“My unluckiness aside,” Minhyuk said, “Why do you hate my roommate?”

A loud, dramatic sigh. They drew attention from some people around them—dirty looks from a group of girls studying for their midterms—but, if Kihyun noticed, then the only sign of it was the slight lowering of his voice.

“His face is so annoyingly handsome and he’s as smart as I am? That’s not allowed!” Kihyun huffed, arms crossed over his chest as he tapped his foot against the ground, as if mapping out the patience ticking away from him would help him with anything. _“No one can be smarter than me!”_

“Don’t be ridiculous, Hyun,” Minhyuk said, his eyes never leaving the math problem he had been working out for the past half hour. “Einstein was definitely smarter than you.”

“The human brain is constantly evolving. Einstein died centuries ago—his brilliance can’t be compared to that of a modern day brain. For all we know, everyone could have just overhyped him because everyone else was stupid,” Kihyun retorted. “A genius of _his_ time doesn’t translate to being a genius in _our_ time.”

Minhyuk fixed Kihyun with a silent stare, speechless at the younger man’s tirade. Raising both brows and slowly nodding, but still not looking up at Kihyun, Minhyuk clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth.

“Okay… so why do you hate my roommate, again?”

“I literally _just_ told you.”

“No, like,” Minhyuk paused, finally looking up. “I meant: _what did he do this time?_ ”

Kihyun huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

“He got a perfect score on the midterm,” he replied, gritting his teeth. “A _perfect_ score.”

“And what did you get?”

“Ninety-eight,” Kihyun snarled, expression darkening. Minhyuk nodded, slowly.

“You’re angry about two percent.”

“No, I’m angry because it had to be a fluke! There’s no way!” Kihyun argued, shaking his head firmly. “And you know what else pisses me off? The professor announced the highest grade, and he _dared_ to turn around and _smile_ at me. His _infuriating smile_ —the one that makes him look like he _really_ thinks he’s better than me.”

“I don’t think Hoseok thinks he’s better than you,” Minhyuk mused. Kihyun glared at him.

“I don’t think you’re the awesome best friend you claim to be.”

 

 

 

“I really don’t understand why he hates me so much,” Hoseok laughed, shaking his head as he reached for the container of protein atop the fridge. Whenever Minhyuk was with Kihyun, he would hear about how much the younger man hated his roommate, and whenever he was home, he would hear Hoseok talk about why he didn’t understand why Kihyun _never_ smiled at him. “I try to be nice. How does he find so much hatred in his tiny body? And what have I done to have him channel it all at me?”

From where he laid on the sofa, Minhyuk shrugged his shoulders— _he really didn’t get it either_. Kihyun’s supposed hatred for Hoseok was amusing to him, especially because his reasoning never seemed to make any sense at all. In truth, if Kihyun really hated anyone who was smarter than him (or relatively as smart as), then he and Minhyuk wouldn’t be friends. Kihyun might argue that he was definitely smarter than Minhyuk, but his reasoning for hatred would then beg the question of how Kihyun got along with his own roommate—a small, cute boy named Changkyun with a gifted brain and some godly IQ, which blew Minhyuk away when he had first learned of it, despite knowing Yoo Kihyun all of his life.

“He thinks you’re constantly mocking him whenever you get a higher score than him,” Minhyuk replied. “ _Especially_ when you smile at him, after the professor announces the result statistics.”

Hoseok snorted. Minhyuk looked over at him, watching as Hoseok’s arms subtly flexed as he made his protein shake. Minhyuk really couldn’t understand why Kihyun hated Hoseok, when he looked like _that._ He also couldn’t understand why Kihyun insisted that he absolutely hated Hoseok, when Hoseok was the world’s best cuddle buddy—because Minhyuk would definitely know (and Kihyun would be far from pleased to know that his _best friend_ dared to cuddle with the _enemy_ —though, to be fair, anyone would need cuddles after a sad movie).

“I just want to see him smile,” Hoseok told him, sounding entirely too innocent. “I’d _never_ mock him.”

Minhyuk arched an eyebrow, tone accusing as he spoke, “You think that it’s funny when he shoves his tests in his bag, because he realizes he doesn’t have the highest mark in the lecture, though.”

Hoseok smirked, turning away from Minhyuk to rummage through the cupboards. “Where’s our blender?”

“You’re not denying it,” Minhyuk pointed out. Hoseok chuckled. Minhyuk could see the way his eyes glinted with amusement in the kitchen lighting. He bit back an amused smile at the sight—somehow, it was just too funny for him to witness the other side of Kihyun’s unreasonably rivalry with Shin Hoseok.

“I’m not denying it,” he replied. “You’re right. It’s really funny when he starts furrowing his eyebrows and just stomps out of the lecture hall. I’m pretty sure you think it’s pretty funny, too.”

Minhyuk made a face, “I’m not sure I’m supposed to disclose that information to the sworn enemy of my best friend.”

Hoseok ran his fingers through his hair and winked at Minhyuk, playfully—“I won’t tell.”

“He’ll think of me as a horrible best friend,” Minhyuk added, furrowing his brows. Hoseok shrugged, flashing a charming smile at the red-haired man.

“I’m _pretty_ sure he already thinks that, according to all the names he calls you whenever he’s over at our place.”

“That’s just how best friends work.”

“ _Mhmm_ ,” Hoseok answered, shaking his head and laughing. “I also heard him telling you that he thinks you’re the worst best friend in the entire world, because you don’t hate me as much as he hates me.”

Minhyuk pressed his tongue against the roof of his mouth, thinking about his response before he sat up on the sofa, looking at the older man. “Were you sitting near us in the library today, or something?”

Hoseok laughed, arching an eyebrow at Minhyuk as if questioning his sense, “Don’t you think he needs a reason before he goes off on a sudden tirade about how much he hates me?”

Realization seemed to dawn on Minhyuk’s face like a wave washing over a shore—suddenly, but so easily—and Hoseok laughed at the way the red-haired man’s expression seemingly lit up. And in a moment like this, Kihyun would definitely be right if he said that Minhyuk was a million times dumber than him.

Suddenly, he had the urge to text Kihyun and ask him how he had the _guts_ to angrily rant about someone who was sitting so close to them. It wasn’t like he’d said anything rude about his best friend, but he was rather shocked at the nerve of his own best friend. Kihyun was never the kind of person to watch his mouth, when he was fueled with enough reason, but Kihyun’s hatred for Hoseok was a little bit _ridiculous._

Hoseok seemed to catch onto Minhyuk’s internal struggle. He changed the topic.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come to the gym with me?” Hoseok asked, after a moment of silence. The older man grabbed his protein shake and walked out towards where Minhyuk was laying down, picking up the gym bag, which was sitting on the floor beside the sofa, and slinging it over his shoulder. Minhyuk rolled his eyes.

“You know I’d die before I step into the gym with you,” he said, lips pursing as he looked up at his roommate. “Kihyun’s coming over to do some homework later, anyway.”

“Oh,” Hoseok’s eyes glinted, lips curving into a little smirk, “You should text me and tell me when he leaves. I don’t want to intrude on your best friend time and suddenly fill the room with hatred. Especially not today, since I got a perfect score on or midterm, y’know?”

Minhyuk snorted, throwing at sofa cushion in Hoseok’s general direction.

“ _Sometimes_ , I think I get why he doesn’t like you.”

Hoseok cackled and tossed him a peace sign as he left the dorm.

 

 

 

 _“I honestly can’t believe the nerve of that guy,”_ Kihyun hissed, jamming his pencil into the textbook which he had laid out on Minhyuk’s bed. Minhyuk made a face at him (he’d been doing that a lot, recently).

Kihyun was the one who was complaining about how their textbooks were so expensive, but he was also the first to destroy their books in a fit.

“To be fair, you already told me about all of this,” Minhyuk remarked.

“He didn’t know that!” Kihyun shot back. “Does he _have_ to mock me?”

They were sitting in Minhyuk’s room—snacks scattered across the floor as they worked on an assignment together. Minhyuk had just updated Kihyun on his conversation with Hoseok, prior to Kihyun arriving at their dorm, and the younger man was very obviously fuming.

For someone who claimed that he hated someone, Kihyun certainly talked about Hoseok a lot. He also asked about him, a lot. But, Minhyuk knew he’d start a fight, if he brought it up, again.

(The last time he had the guts to bring that up, Kihyun ranted for an hour and a half about how he simply couldn’t contain how angry Hoseok made him, and it had absolutely _nothing_ to do with that one time that he’d drunkenly proclaimed _‘Hoseok pisses me off because he’s smarter than me, but his intelligence turns me on and I would fuck him, if given the chance’_.)

“All he did was reiterate the fact that he got a perfect score on the test,” Minhyuk said. “I don’t think he’s mocking…”

Kihyun huffed, “That’s exactly the problem. We _get_ it. He’s _brilliant_.”

“Well, acceptance is a go—”

 _“Brilliantly lucky,”_ Kihyun hissed, glaring up at his best friend.

Minhyuk exhaled, loudly, massaging his temples.

“You’re always defending him!”

“You’re always attacking him!” Minhyuk cried, “What am I supposed to do? He’s never done anything crappy to me!”

 _“But, you’re my best friend, Hyuk,”_ Kihyun whined, childishly. And these were the kinds of moments that had Minhyuk feeling endearment towards Kihyun. Despite his constant complaining, Kihyun was always so cute. _Always_. “You’re supposed to be all _‘if he messes with you, he messes with me!’_ Aren’t you supposed to be like that?”

“I think that’s more of a boyfriend thing to do, Hyun,” Minhyuk frowned, backspacing on the report he was typing up. “And no offense, but you’re _really_ not my type, remember?”

Kihyun crossed his arms over his chest, throwing the pencil down onto the bed, watching it bounce against the cotton sheets and fall somewhere between the folds of fabric.

“Fine! You know what? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

Looking up from his laptop, Minhyuk warily stared at Kihyun.

“And when are you going to do that?” he asked. “Please, leave me out of it.”

Kihyun whipped a stuffed animal at him.

 

 

 

“Minhyuk’s not here, if you’re looking for him.” Hoseok told Kihyun, not bothering to look up at him and focusing entirely on counting his pushups.

He could tell who had entered the dorm without needing to look up—Kihyun was the only person who would enter their dorm, with footsteps that soft. Minhyuk more or less stomped around the dorm.

“Do you ever wear clothes in the dorm?” Kihyun groaned, letting the door slam shut behind him. Hoseok halted, holding himself in place for a moment, before deciding to stop and entertain the younger man.

“Is it a problem that your best friend sees me half-naked all the time?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at Kihyun. The dark-haired man crossed his arms over his chest, but Hoseok could see the ghost of colour on his cheeks. “It shouldn’t bother you, you don’t even live here.”

“Do you _ever_ act like a decent human being?”

Hoseok snorted, “ _Kihyun,_ what have I done that’s so inhumane?”

“You’re constantly being the biggest piece of shit to exist—even bigger than Minhyuk, and that’s a feat— _and_ you constantly give me those infuriating smiles when you _know_ that you’ve done better than me in something, _and then_ —!” Kihyun huffed, loudly, “And then, you have the _nerve_ to look good, too? That’s inhumane!”

Hoseok pushed himself up off of his knees and shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants, arching an eyebrow in amusement. “You sound like you have a crush on me.”

 _“Do you_ see _what I mean by infuriating?!”_ Kihyun exclaimed, turning away with his cheeks flushed, bright red. “I do _not_ have a crush on you!”

“I just said it _sounded_ like you have a crush on me,” Hoseok replied, chuckling quietly and shaking his head at the younger man. Kihyun glared at him. “I didn’t say you _did_ have a crush on me.”

Hoseok took a few steps towards Kihyun, gently tapping his fingers underneath Kihyun’s chin and making him look at him. He pursed his lips, studying Kihyun’s expression—relishing in the pride of having Kihyun’s eyes darting away from his own, when their eyes met. _So cute_. “If you _did_ have a crush on me, then we’ve been playing a strange flirting game these past few months, don’t you think, Kihyunnie?”

“Don’t call me that,” Kihyun hissed. A couple more steps forward had Hoseok backing him up into the wall. Hoseok placed his hands on the wall behind Kihyun, caging the younger man between his arms—leaving him enough space to run away, if he really wanted it.

Kihyun didn’t move away from him.

“You’re not denying that we’ve been flirting,” he remarked, staring down at the younger man. Kihyun’s brows furrowed. “Does that mean you really do like me, Kihyunnie?”

“You wish I did,” the younger man snarled.

“Yeah, I do,” Hoseok replied, smirking. There was a flash of surprise in Kihyun’s eyes at his response—his eyes widening to a split second. “I could make fun of you forever, if you did.”

Then, the surprise vanished immediately from the younger man’s expression.

Kihyun pushed him away, palms flat against Hoseok’s chest. He stumbled backwards and, for a second, Hoseok swore he saw disappointment cross Kihyun’s eyes.

But, as soon as Kihyun pushed him away, he was tugged back. Their lips met in a kiss, suddenly, and Hoseok’s eyes widened in shock—the press of Kihyun’s soft lips against his own sending a spark down his body. It lasted a short count, because Kihyun was gone before he could even react.

“You must like me, if you’re so insistent that I like you,” Kihyun snapped, parting from the sudden kiss. The younger man licked his lips, exhaling in annoyance, “Are you finally pleased?”

Hoseok was left stunned, eyes wide in surprise. _Speechless._ Kihyun’s hands were still warm against his chest and he could feel the flush of heat slowly trickle up the back of his neck.

When their eyes met again, Kihyun froze—the realization hitting him like a freight train, when he recognized the suddenly shy glaze over Hoseok’s eyes and the soft flush of colour on his cheeks.

The dark-haired man’s lips parted, a soft whisper of realization, “Oh my God. You _do_ like me.”

In a state of panic, Hoseok chewed on his lower lip, unsure of how to respond to Kihyun.

In a million years, he didn’t think he would ever be figured out. He’d based his assumptions off of his roommate, though, and that might have been his first mistake. Minhyuk never really figured out the attraction Hoseok had towards his best friend and, while Kihyun was obviously smarter, Hoseok didn’t think they would ever have a moment together for Kihyun to have him all worked out.

So, without words, he quickly moved forward, catching Kihyun’s soft jaw between his hands and let their lips meet again. Kihyun seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then he was slowly melting into the kiss—eyes fluttering shut, as he tilted his head upwards, moving his lips slowly against Hoseok’s.

“Am I really that bad?” Hoseok murmured against Kihyun’s lips. “Do you really hate me that much?”

Kihyun didn’t answer him. He simply wrapped his arms around Hoseok’s neck, pulling him closer and kissing him slowly—because, in truth, he couldn’t say that he hated Hoseok as much as he claimed. And he’d insist to himself that the only thing changing his mind was that he couldn’t Hoseok, when they were kissing like this.

(But, surely, that wasn’t true—not when he’d voiced his attraction to Shin Hoseok before.)

 

 

 

One thing built onto another and everything escalated a little bit too quickly.

Perhaps, the sexual tension between them had built up for far too long.

Regardless, they find themselves on the ground by the sofa—Kihyun fit neatly between Hoseok’s legs, as the older man rested his back against the sofa, sweatpants pulled halfway down his legs, head thrown back as he heaved soft breaths of air, and Kihyun’s pretty hands holding his thighs open.

Kihyun’s pretty lips wrapped around Hoseok’s girth, eager to please. Hoseok groaned lowly, gripping into the younger man’s forearm, where he held onto his thigh.

“You’re so pretty,” Hoseok bit out. Kihyun held him down when he involuntarily thrust into his mouth.

The younger man seemed to soak up the compliments, preening with every praise. His mouth worked expertly around Hoseok’s cock, slowly drawing arousal to rope tightly in Hoseok’s stomach.

Kihyun flashed a smirk up at him, eyes twinkling with mischief, as he unwound him with his mouth—hand stroking what he couldn’t fit into his mouth. Hoseok’s lips parted in a rasped moan, fingers curling into a tight fist.

Kihyun had warned him to not touch his hair, but Hoseok’s fingers itched to grip into his hair and pull at it. Instead, he gripped the smaller man’s hand, satisfied moan leaving his lips—low and breathless.

The sounds seemed to encourage Kihyun, because suddenly, the heat of Kihyun’s mouth was enveloping his cock again. The younger man’s cheeks hollowed as he bobbed his head, eyes innocently widened as he looked up at Hoseok— _seemingly searching for approval. Seemingly searching for praise._

He fed the need—rambles of praise leaving his lips; whispers of how pretty Kihyun looked, gentle encouragement for him to keep going, because he could feel his orgasm building fast.

Kihyun rewarded him with a tighter grip on the base of his cock and a particularly harder suck.

And that was the edge he’d needed to unravel completely—cum spilling messily into Kihyun’s mouth, before the younger man could pull off of him. Kihyun’s pretty, hazed eyes widened in surprise, lips parting in a soft moan at the sensation of his mouth filling with Hoseok’s hot cum.

He nuzzled against Hoseok’s stomach, seemingly dazed for a brief moment.

Hoseok’s fingers gently traced his jaw, nudging him up. Kihyun gathered his senses, slowly, but when he finally found himself again, he reached for a tissue to spit (balling it up and throwing it beside them, lazily).

He curled right back up against Hoseok’s body.

“You know... you’re really not too bad,” he murmured, nuzzling against Hoseok’s chest.

A fond smile tugged at Hoseok’s lips and he scoffed softly, “You’re just saying that. I’m great.”

Kihyun hummed softly, choosing to not feed Hoseok’s ego with agreeing.

There was a gentle moment of silence between them. Hoseok’s fingers drew gentle patterns across Kihyun’s skin, the soft smile never leaving his lips.

The door suddenly opened.

Kihyun quickly pulled away from his spot against Hoseok’s chest, eyes wide.

Minhyuk stared at them, frozen in the doorway.

And between them, Minhyuk was the first to speak up.

“Honestly, Kihyun,” Minhyuk sighed, dropping his backpack onto the ground. His eyes scanned his best friend’s features—flushed cheeks and swollen lips. Kihyun avoided his gaze. “When you said you were going to give him a piece of your mind, I really wasn’t picturing giving brain as the solution to all your problems.”

_“Hyuk, I—!”_

“ _Mhmm_ , I recall telling you to leave me out of it,” Minhyuk added, raising a brow. The red-haired man took several steps backwards, inching towards the door which he’d entered from, with a clear intention to leave the dorm.

“Minhyuk,” Hoseok called, biting back a laugh.

“ _Yes, Hoseok_ , I’ll leave you two alone. Enjoy!”

And then, he was gone.

Kihyun peered up at Hoseok, guilt painted on his face. Hoseok chuckled, catching Kihyun’s chin between his fingers and pressing a soft kiss to his lips.

_“He’ll be back.”_

(And though he’d never work out who walked away reigning victorious, Kihyun’s heart fluttered.)


End file.
